Weather or not..?

Since the challenges presented by the winter storm across much of our service area on January 6-7th, 2017, we felt compelled to address a question we get from time to time: What is your inclement weather policy?

Officially, it’s this:

If the National Weather Service issues a Severe Weather Advisory that includes hazardous driving conditions, we will suspend operation until conditions improve. We will communicate with you and do our best to avoid unnecessary disruption of your event. In the unlikely event conditions prevent us from serving you, your payment will be refunded in full.

“How often does this happen? Should l be concerned? I know your cars are classics — how picky are you about getting them out in bad weather?”

Well, we’re proud to say that in 18 years of business, we have never missed a wedding or any other special occasion for any reason, including weather. This includes last weekend, which was a significant challenge. Part of this has been luck, at least with the weather. There’s no other way to put it. But a lot of it has been due to proper planning and preparation. For instance, one of our weddings on Winter Storm Weekend was in South Alabama – an area not affected badly by the weather, in this case – but we had very real concerns about our ability to get out of our home base in Birmingham. In that case, we trailered “Catherine” down a day early, and stayed overnight at our expense to make sure we were there for our clients!

For our Birmingham weddings, we moved our cars to three separate locations, in case our shop (atop a steep hill) got iced in. And while we always have a backup car and chauffeur standing by, anytime one of our cars is out on an event, on this particular evening we set up a backup car and chauffeur for each wedding.

We expect to occasionally have to drive in rain, snow, or other weather conditions, and while other car collectors sometimes shriek at this prospect, we know that it comes with the territory. (This is one reason to hire a professional company, rather than depending on a family member or friend for a classic car.)

The bottom line is, if we can do it safely, we’ll be there. And if we can’t be there, we’ll refund you. We do request a Day-of Contact when you reserve, who we will get in touch with in this eventuality. Moreover, we highly recommend hiring a professional coordinator who can handle these sorts of situations without interrupting your special occasion. They are a lifesaver!